The use of subliminal messages in advertising has been around for a long time, though the public has mostly taken little notice of the practice of using split-second images or subliminal suggestions in ads. For example, it is a widely held urban myth that subliminal messages used in advertisements are illegal in the United States. In fact, the US has no such law on the books.

Other countries, however, do have laws against the use of subliminal content, including India, the United Kingdom, Australia and Ireland, among others. And several recent studies suggest that subliminal content can and does have a very real effect on viewers/listeners.

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem recently published the results of a research trial that confirmed that subliminal messages can influence the attitudes and behavior of voters in the Israeli general election. The study, as reported by the Jerusalem Post, used images of both the Palestine and Israeli flag, which were then flashed for mere milliseconds on a video display being watched by study participants.

While the research showed that none of the experiments participants were aware of seeing a flag on the monitor, their political positions and feelings regarding the Israeli-Palestine conflict changed when presented with the subliminal images of either flag.

Ironically, Israelis who were exposed to a subliminal image of their own flag, became more moderate in their views of the conflict. Palestinians who were exposed to the subliminal Palestine flag also moderated their views somewhat, becoming less extreme in their opinions.

This result was actually the opposite of what was expected. Researchers theorized that when exposed to images of their own flag, the subjects would become more reactionary, and even nationalistic. The study results proved that the subliminal image of their own flag made subjects more temperate and moderate in their political views.

And it is interesting to note that both Israeli and Palestine subjects responded the same to the subliminal “flag-waving.” Both became more open minded about negotiations, and exhibited less nationalistic tendencies.

An additional experiment was conducted prior to Isreals last general election. In this study as well, the subliminal flag image was shown to influence both right-wing and left-wing Israelis, with the effect of “pulling” both of these political extremes toward the center. Subjects who were exposed to the flag expressed an intention to vote for the centrist parties in greater numbers than those who were not exposed to the subliminal image.

During follow-up research, it was established that the subjects who intended to vote for center candidates had indeed voted that way, suggesting that the exposure to the subliminal image may have actually affected their voting behavior, as well as their point of view.

Researchers are uncertain why a symbol of the nation — such as the flag — would cause subjects to moderate their views, but it is clear that the subject of subliminal political persuasion will be studied closely in years to come.

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With the election season fast approaching, millions of Americans find themselves in the “undecided” category. Between the many primary debates, and mostly negative campaign commercials, it’s difficult to know how any particular candidate stands on the issues.

But taking a cue from “matchmaker” web sites like eHarmony.com, a new web site called GlassBooth.com uses a questionnaire format which determines the user’s position on issues as varied as immigration, the war in Iraq, and health care reform. After analyzing the user’s responses, the site’s proprietary software algorithm determines the ideal candidate the user should vote for in the next presidential election.

For example, if you believe that health care for all Americans is more important than bringing democracy to the Middle East, the GlassBooth software will analyze those responses and find a presidential candidate who takes similar positions. GlassBooth cofounder Ian Mannheimer says the new web site is filling a “massive void.”

The “void” Mannheimer refers to is the lack of knowledge about where any particular candidate stands on actual issues. Often, presidential races come down to questions of personality and which candidate is more “likable,” because there is so little information available to the general public about the differences between candidates on serious political issues.

GlassBooth.com aims to fill this void by providing a head-on comparison of candidates to assist voters in backing a candidate who supports issues they care about. The target demographic for the news site is 18 to 31 year-old voters. And although traditional wisdom holds that voters in this younger age group do not go to the polls in significant numbers, the reality is that the 18 to 31 year-old demographic has shown a steady increase in voting habits over the last three presidential elections.

The site was founded by Mannheimer and Robert Boyle, a law student from Cambridge, Massachusetts. GlassBooth.com claims to be a completely nonpartisan web site, which simply keeps an exhaustive database of candidate votes and position papers. The concept of the site is to inform the electorate, not to persuade.

Although GlassBooth is obviously filling a void in American politics, the real question is whether voters will actually vote for a candidate based on the results of a computer database search. Americans have a long tradition of wanting to feel like they know their presidential candidates personally — that they can relate to them in some way.

It remains to be seen, however, whether voters will put aside the “cult of personality” and actually vote for a presidential candidate on the basis of issues, not who they’d most like to have a beer with.

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